Minimalism is more than a trend. It is a way to increase the quality of your life, and that never fades away, which is why I want to share with you the benefits of minimalism.
I believe it is important to know that you’ll gain more than a decluttered space and that it isn’t something you do for a short period of time and then revert to your old ways.
It is more than that!
A big misconception about minimalism is that you have to get rid of everything that doesn’t fit into a backpack. This is certainly not the case for many minimalists, myself included.
While I do admire those who need so little to live a fulfilled life, I need a bit more than a backpack’s worth of items.
What I love about minimalism is that it isn’t a one-size-fits-all lifestyle. You get to define it for yourself.
For me, the definition of minimalism can be summed up with the words from The Minimalists:
Minimalism is a tool to rid yourself of life’s excess in favor of focusing on what’s important—so you can find happiness, fulfillment, and freedom.
Isn’t that a great definition? It’s also freeing to think that you only need to declutter the things you define as excess.
So if having a craft hobby makes you happy, keep the things you use for your crafts. Decluttering your crafts is helpful, but eliminating it completely is not the answer.
As a minimalist and a homesteader, I do have a collection of supplies for preserving food. In fact, a decent part of my kitchen contains supplies for canning.
I’m not willing to part with things that are useful, and you don’t have to either!
Now before I go further into a tangent that isn’t directly related to the topic of this post, let me tell you where I’m headed.
Minimalism has many benefits that aren’t talked about often. Sure, you gain space, but what else is there?
Well, to be honest, there’s a lot more to benefit from in addition to the space you gain.
You don’t necessarily experience them all at one time, either, which is why I rewrote this post. It originally contained the first six benefits, but since writing it, I’ve experienced many more benefits of minimalism.
This post was originally written in 2017, so that shows you that a minimalist lifestyle is a journey, not a destination.
15 Benefits of Minimalism: Own Less, Do More
Overall, a minimalist lifestyle is about living with intention and more consciously. While that may directly tie to physical benefits and more money in the bank, there is more to it than that.
I honestly wasn’t expecting all of these things, as I mentioned above, but they have all been well received.
1 // Less stuff and more space!
This is probably the most obvious of the benefits of minimalism, which is why I’m starting with it!
As you declutter, you are physically moving things out of your home, creating more space and allowing your home to breathe.
You’ll notice that things fit comfortably into a space versus having to be crammed. This means that what you own can finally have a proper home!
It may take a few rounds of decluttering to get your home to where you want it, but once you do, you start to notice more benefits.
Related Posts: Decluttering Your Home: How to Decide What to Get Rid of
2 // Less time cleaning and organizing!
How many times have you organized and reorganized your things only to feel like you wasted your time? Probably too many to count, right?
The truth is that until you declutter and then organize your things, you’ll always spend time reorganizing the clutter.
Once you declutter, you won’t feel the need to keep reorganizing, which frees up a lot of your time! [Oh yeah!]
When it comes to cleaning, I suggest trying to remove as much from horizontal surfaces as possible. This speeds up cleaning time, and the things you do have on your horizontal surfaces will mean more to you because they “made the cut”.
My cleaning routine went from taking up an entire Saturday to spending less than 30 minutes a day cleaning and tidying my home. To say I’m thankful for that is an understatement!
If you’re interested in doing the same, I created a workbook to help you set up your own cleaning routine because we all deserve to enjoy our days off!
Related Posts:
- How To Cut Cleaning Time In Half & Make Time for the Things You Enjoy
- A Minimalist Cleaning Routine to Maintain a Clean & Tidy Home
3 // Small yet fabulous wardrobe!
If you have not tried a capsule wardrobe, I highly suggest you do so today! Having a small, versatile wardrobe makes life much simpler.
In reality, having a large wardrobe gives you too many options to process, which results in you feeling like you have nothing to wear.
Have you heard the statement:
You wear 20% of the pieces in your wardrobe, 80% of the time
By cutting down your wardrobe to having only the pieces that make you feel like a million bucks, you’ll actually get better use out of your wardrobe and feel amazing!
Life is far too short to wear mundane feeling clothes anyway!
Related Post: How to Rebuild a Wardrobe; Building a Wardrobe from Scratch
4 // Reduced Stress!
This was one of the first mental benefits of minimalism that I experienced, and I was so thankful for that.
If you are someone who stresses easily, know that your stress reduces significantly as a minimalist.
Now I don’t mean that you declutter one time, call yourself a minimalist, and the stress disappears. That is definitely not what happens!
By simplifying your home and your life, you are making room to breathe. I like to call this ‘creating whitespace’.
This whitespace creates a calming atmosphere around you, helps you slow down to where you can think about things, and introduces the importance of living intentionally.
See, you aren’t just decluttering your physical items. You are also decluttering your mind. It’s two for the price of one!
If you’re ready, you should check out the resources in my FREE Resource Library to help you with this!
5 // Less stuff equals more freedom!
Once you’ve decluttered and refined your routine, you will actually find more time to do the things you love and enjoy!
I know this sounds crazy, but I am living proof that it is true!
If you are in the midst of decluttering or spend all of your time cleaning and organizing, you may have a hard time seeing how it is possible.
But you will get to that point. Then what?
What will you do with the free time you have?
Will you start gardening, read more books, learn a new skill, discover your passions, and spend more time with your children?
When you remove all of the distractions of clutter and excess, you have a new focus on living the life of your dreams!
What do you dream of doing?
Do you dream of going back to school, starting your own company, or paying off your debt [By the way, selling things you declutter can help this goal tremendously! Check out my tips for a successful garage sale!]?
How much faster could you achieve these dreams with more time to work towards them?
6 // Clarity!
This is why I do what I do.
The clarity I’ve gained has helped me see that helping women, just like you, declutter their lives so that they can live intentionally is my purpose on this planet.
When you clear the excess from your life, you can see more clearly and know what you should be working towards achieving.
The clutter currently in your life is keeping you from that, and I know because I’ve been there.
Related Post: A Beginner Guide to Living Intentionally
7 // Greater purpose
This piggybacks on our previous point of gaining clarity.
Living with purpose gives you a reason to wake up each day excited for the things to come! It helps you rest easy at night.
When you live with a greater purpose, you also realize how much more you can let go of, whether that be commitments or finding more things to declutter.
You also let go of previous mindsets that held you back from going for greatness!
8 // More money!
Because you are intentional with how you spend money, you’ll naturally have more of it, which is great news!
Being conscious of what you do and don’t spend money on does take some practice, but once you get the hang of it, saving money seems like second nature.
Now I’m not saying that you can’t splurge or treat yourself, but you just become more aware of how often you are doing it. You may also experience a reduced need to treat yourself, which is something that has personally happened to me.
Related Post: 39 Ways to Cut Expenses from Your Budget
9 // Better relationships
If you’ve heard my story before, you know that around the time I found minimalism, two very close friendships came to an end.
For a while, I was hurt, but over time, I realized that those friendships ending was for the best! They were holding me back from even better relationships and needed to end.
If you have some friendships that are toxic, don’t be afraid to end them. There is nothing wrong with doing what is best for you.
If you have a friendship that you would like to nurture more, the beautiful thing about minimalism is that you can create time for that.
I personally found that when the two relationships ended, I sought more quality time with my husband and grew closer to my grandmother.
The relationship with my husband and grandmother means more to me than the two I ended ever did.
While that may sound harsh, it is the truth.
10 // Eco-friendly living
Completely shifting gears, let’s talk about our planet!
This is one thing I never expected to be a benefit of minimalism, but I am so thankful it is!
Minimalism increases our consciousness and reduces our need to consume. Naturally, living eco-friendly fits within this lifestyle.
It’s not about doing everything but doing what you can. You know, those simple swaps:
- cloth napkins in lieu of paper towels
- reusable cotton rounds in lieu of cotton balls
- a Misto sprayer in lieu of aerosol oil sprays [My favorite swap of all time!]
This not only helps you reduce consuming resources that you don’t have to, but it also helps you save money! Talk about a win-win!
Related Posts:
11 // Increased productivity
One of my favorite benefits of minimalism is my ability to focus on the task at hand.
I’ve exponentially increased my productivity after decluttering because I am not distracted by things that I need to clean up or half-completed projects I need to finish.
Wouldn’t you love to completely focus on a project from start to finish without feeling like you have to clean or tidy something?
Just imagine sitting down to paint for an afternoon because you can. It’s nice, isn’t it?
Related Post: 35 Ways to Increase Your Productivity
12 // A visually calmer environment
If you’re someone who is sensitive to your environment, this is one of the many benefits of minimalism you’re going to LOVE experiencing!
Simplifying your home means that things are easily put away, you only display home decor you love, and overall, there is less stuff sitting out cluttering up your home.
This gives you the opportunity to create a home you love and feel good spending time in every day.
In our previous home, we had a mantle that I would put all kinds of trinkets on because I thought it had to be full. There was always so much to look at that I never felt like I could relax.
When I swapped out all of those trinkets for one large but simple piece of decor, I instantly felt calmer.
You see, it doesn’t take much to create a calmer home, which is great news for you!
13 // Less time spent looking for things
When you completely declutter the excess from your life, everything you own should have a designated home.
This means that when you need something, you will know exactly where to find it, which is so much fun!
You reduce your confusion looking for something [because don’t we all feel confused when we have to look for something?] and increase your time doing things you want to do.
14 // Focusing on experiences versus stuff
If you’ve spent the majority of your life focusing on the stuff you have, you’re in for a treat with this benefit!
As humans, we are meant to experience life through doing things versus collecting things.
I don’t necessarily mean traveling the world unless you want to do that.
Any kind of new experience counts.
You could try out the new local restaurant or grow a garden full of things that you’ve never grown before now.
Focus on doing things rather than accumulating things, and I promise you that your life will be more enriched as a result!
15 // More rest
Did you see this coming in this benefits of minimalism list? If not, let me explain!
When you declutter your life, you say no to things that don’t align with your values or what you want to achieve.
You honestly slow down from the rat race of life and begin to experience it from a renewed viewpoint.
Life becomes less about booking your calendar completely full and more about how you can recharge yourself so that you can do the things you want to do.
Rest doesn’t exactly equate to sleep. It could mean that you take slow long walks in nature or have longer conversations with your spouse.
The beautiful thing is that you get to choose how you recharge and how often because you’re finally in control of your life.
Take action and experience the benefits of minimalism
Now that you know about the benefits of minimalism, I bet it is hard to remain in the space you’ve been in for so long.
I’m here to tell you that it is time to take action and create a life you love [that’s also decluttered!].
I’ve got a few resources for you, including access to a FREE Resource Library that has many resources to help you declutter your home, declutter your mind, and live more intentionally!
In addition to the Resource Library, be sure to check out the following posts:
- Minimalist Decluttering Challenge
- Mental Cleanse Challenge
- 51 Things to Declutter Right Now that Are Holding You Back!
All of these have resources in the Resource Library to help you take action.
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Dressing, in particular, is definitely so much easier since I started simplifying my clothes. Great post 🙂
I have just discovered your blog and, as I’m looking for some great content about minimalism at the moment for my day job, I thought I’d add a few of your post to my list. I work for a company that promotes blog posts on social media, so basically, I’ve added 3 of your posts to our system for free. No strings attached – I just like them, and it’s part of my job to search for great blogs!
Hopefully you’ll see our subscribers sharing your post on social media in the next few days. Keep it up!
I completely agree, Amy! I love having such a simple wardrobe now. I really appreciate you sharing my work. That is so sweet of you, even if it is your job! 🙂
Wow, I would have never guessed that being a minimalist could help add clarity to your life. I guess that makes sense since decluttering your mind can help to declutter your focus on life. Clearing up the excess can help you realize what is really important. Thanks for sharing your minimalist lifestyle with us.
Yes, Desiree, it does help a lot with clearing the path to what you want for your life. If I would not have made the transition and experienced the difference for myself, I would not have as easily believed it. I am very sensitive when it comes to my sensory levels. My surrounds influence how I feel, and having the clutter gone has helped reduce this sensitivity.
Love the tips about having a fabulous smaller wardrobe! It’s so true that we hold onto things just to have a larger wardrobe with more choices, when in reality less is more. Having items in your closet to just take up space is silly and counterproductive. I’m really trying to stay focused on only buying items that will be versatile in my wardrobe. Great post, Erin!
I agree; it is silly and counterproductive, Cara! I will admit that I do not always win with pieces that I add to my capsule wardrobe, but, to me, that is the fun part of discovering your style and what works for you.